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Ch. 3: How Did that Happen?

It had now been three days, THREE DAYS, since we had arrived in Jasper and I was ready to take this Agent Fowler out. The day after I had met the kids, I had caught my first glance at Agent Fowler. He was a stocky kind of man and I felt that his threat level was very low. He seemed out of shape, though my research told me that he used to be an Army Ranger. That might cause him to be difficult, but I didn't see much of that about to happen. How did I not see it? Well, the reason I first saw him was because Miko seemed to have gotten into some sort of trouble at school that must have interfered with his assignment. I didn't see any other reason for him to be there. That observation told me that he was going to be a simple target to take out.

“But remember Lizzie dear, simple targets aren't always what they appear to be.”

I jumped and turned from my bed as Black's voice came from the doorway. Of course, he was leaning against the frame, all dressed up in his normal suit outfit. “Don't do that!” I growled as I stood up, for I had been kneeling down next to it to put away a few weapons that I had been practicing with, before I walked toward my closet. “Yes, but I want this simple target out of the way quickly.” I pulled out my Dragunov SVD rifle and double checked to make sure that it was in proper working order before I placed it in its case.

“So, you are going to use the Dragunov?” Black asked me. “I thought you would go for the SCAR.”

Rolling my eyes, I walked up to him and said, “The SCAR doesn't feel right for this. I think the Dragunov is more suited.”

Black held up his hands in a surrendering motion. “Sorry Lizzie. If you want to use the Dragunov, then you are free to use it.” He then motioned out the door before saying, “Now, shall we go and track down our Agent Fowler?”

Nodding, I walked out of the door and went to the elevator. The ride up was quiet, as it usually was before we went to take out a target. No talking, no getting distracted by other factors that we might bring up. No allowing those who might be affected by the target's death enter your mind, even slightly, so that you could focus solely on your mission. It took me a while to learn these but, ever since I had, my performance on the job had improved exponentially.

Once we reached the top, we walked out to his dune buggy. It was the street legal kind that was painted with tan digital cameo. Honestly, he probably bought it for this place just in case he needed. “Your driving.” I told him as I placed my rifle case behind the passenger seat before I got in and brought it back up front to sit on my lap.

He nodded and effortlessly jumped into the driver seat before starting it up and driving down the desert road. As he did, I found myself thinking about what I had learned from Black and what I had accomplished because of it. Personally, I had taken down rulers with the heaviest of guard and cretins with the most uncanny ability to hide. All because of Edward Blacksmith. And to think that, once upon a time, I had been sent to kill him.

Flashback:

“You know your mission. Find the target, study them, and take him down.” My contact at Homeland said to me as I sat in the middle of the large oak tree on the side of Blacksmith's house. A month ago, Homeland Security had hired me to take out a rogue agent of theirs, Edward Vitae Blacksmith. This agent was the top of their special operations for a few years until, one day, he simply vanished. He had been their top agent, though they didn't inform me as to why that was. Oh well. Not long after that, they received word that missions he worked on appeared on the internet and they were having one heck of a time covering it up. They were paying me about five hundred thousand to take him out and so I didn't mind what he did.

Shaking my head, I said, “I know that. Now, can you keep this line clear.” I noticed that there were six bundles of poppy flowers. Guess he was into the flowers. Must have a significant meaning to Blacksmith because they did not go with this house.

“Not until you complete the objective.” My contact quickly responded.

Taking out the earpiece and microphone set, I said, “Hey, I think there is a solar flare happening. I am losing you!”

“Don't you dare,” The agent started to yell but, before he could finish, I smashed the devices. They would just distract me. I wanted to take care of this Edward Blacksmith as quickly as possible so I could get the rest of my fee and get out of there. When I had been studying him, something had felt off. It was almost like he knew that I was watching him. But, that was impossible. No one knew when I was watching them until it was too late.

Dropping down from my hiding place, I made my way to the front door. I had taken Blacksmith's actual key to force him to show me where he kept his hidden one. But, once he did, I placed his original key on the ground next to his car so he would think that he dropped it.

Once the front door was unlocked, I carefully opened it so it wouldn't make a sound and, once it was open enough for me to fit through, I quickly crept inside before shutting and locking the door again. It would make the police think that I had come through another direction when they came to investigate the murder. Or, well, when the came to investigate the 'accident'. That sounded better. Yeah, I'll go with accident for now.

As I made my way up the stairs of the three story Victorian styled home, I noticed that there weren't many personal items around. None. It was like my target was a sad, pathetic shell of a man who was dead in every way but the one that I was here to accomplish. Maybe this would be like a mercy killing instead of an act of brutality. Yeah, that's right. Just an act of mercy for the poor ex-agent.

When I reached the top floor, which housed Blacksmith's room, I carefully walked down the hall until I came to a simple brown door. I would have thought that Blacksmith would have had a more decorated door but the way the man decorated his house was not important to me. His life was. Or, more specifically, ending his life was.

Opening the door, I glanced around the room. The shadows seemed to cling to each and every surface that the almost pristine, and simple, room held. The carpet below my shoes had a feel that was not unlike coarse wool and it was colored black and silver. In the northeast corner of the room, a simple dresser sat with only a medium sized mirror sitting on top. In the northwest corner, there was a cabinet that held a few trophies and certificates, though what they said was of no consequence to me. What was of consequence was what was in the middle of the room, the bed. It's simple headboard was pushed against the north wall and a figure was covered by a light comforter that was colored black. This guy had an addiction to black.

Shaking my head, I let out a slow breath, feeling the under-armor of the mask I was wearing stretch as I took my last deep breath before I took out my target. Then, I silently took out my dagger and held it in my hand as I carefully made my way to the side of his bed. These ex-agent types could be quite a handful if I messed up and I didn't want to have to try and fight him. No, instead, I wanted to end his life for him peacefully. So, once I was next to the bed, I saw that his back was facing me. Perfect. Now all I had to do was drive the dagger into the base of his neck. Painless.

Once I located where his neck was, I held the dagger out before quickly and decisively bringing it down on his neck. When I pulled out the weapon and it was covered in red, I knew that I had done my job. “But, just to confirm it.” I muttered to myself as I gripped the black comforter, ready to pull it back. After a few seconds of standing there, I did just that.

“What?” I gasped in a loud whisper. This wasn't supposed to happen! He was supposed to be here! The dagger was covered in blood!

I yelped as a sharp, yet thin, object slammed into my neck and something was injected into me before I realized what was going on. By then, my vision was going dark and I was falling to the floor. The last thing that I registered was an averaged sized, but strong, warm arm catching me around my upper waist.

End of Flashback.

“Not to interrupt your zone out.” Black stated, bringing me out of the memories of the past. I made sure not to show my surprise as he did. I also noticed that he was slowing down greatly. “But, I believe that is one of those vehicles that picks up the children, and, unless I'm losing my vision, I believe that our Agent Fowler is in the front seat.”

“Driver side?” I asked him. I was hoping that he wouldn't be. That maybe he had slipped and I could find out more about his project.

But, as expected, Black nodded. “Yep, though he looks a little too relaxed. Maybe we should get a closer look. Maybe a red one.” He smirked at the end of that. I knew he was talking about me taking out Fowler.

Smirking, I said, “Well, we had better go and catch up to them. I've got a named bullet just itching to connect with Agent Fowler.” Of course, it wasn't a true named bullet. I never actually named them because then I didn't want to risk jinxing my shots because I shot the wrong named bullet at my target.

Black smirked back at me before he carefully followed the Agent's dust trail. We were using the dust trail to stay out of his sight. He couldn't use any radar he might have to locate us because Black shielded all of his vehicles with carbon shielding. Even his plane was shielded. Made it really nice to move through the air quickly and secretive. Of course, that shielding didn't stop us from tracking them.

We followed them for a few moments until they came to a round-about and stopped. Perfect. That meant that there would be nowhere for Fowler to retreat that didn't come past me. Once Black stopped the buggy, I hopped out and took my rifle out of its case before I walked toward the edge of the opening of the end of the canyon. It was far enough away from Black that we were no long in each others' sights but it was close enough for me to run to him if I had to make a quick getaway from the location. On the other side, the walls were high and there were no openings. So, I was almost positive that this was going to be a simple hit, since the green SUV seemed to be in park, so it couldn't get in my way when I eventually took my shot. But, first, I had to make sure that I had perfect aim to make it a quick and painless death. That was the least I could do for my targets. Unless the circumstances were very unique, I didn't want to cause my targets any more pain then they had to suffer.

Laying down on the sandy ground, I aimed my rifle so I would be taking out this Agent Fowler in one hit, no mess or extra pain. Also, I made sure that I stayed to the shadows just in case they started to look around here before I could get my shot in. But, as I lined up Fowler in my cross-hairs, I knew that was not going to happen. I was almost ready. The shot was only a moment away. I slowly placed my right pointer finger against the trigger and took a deep breath before slowly exhaling it. This was it. After days of getting ready, this was it. As Fowler started to hang up his phone, I knew that the time was now. Once the phone was hung up, then I would be ready.

Fowler placing his phone in his pocket told me that it was time. So, I checked my shot and, with practiced ease, I pulled the trigger. The sound of the shot was almost non-existent thanks to highly-advanced tools that Black had gotten me through his contacts. The kick-back was lowered greatly due to the same reason. I could almost watch as the bullet sailed toward the Agent. Well, I might of if I wasn't panicking and quickly getting up. As soon as I fired the shot, I knew it was a miss and I had to get out of there. How did I know so early that the shot was a miss? Well, as soon as I had pulled the trigger, the green SUV did the most unlikely thing.

It moved into the bullet's path.

“Of all the luck.” I grumbled as I sprinted around a corner and saw Black's car in sight.

Black, for his part, looked surprised and stood up before asking, “What's wrong?”

Guess he could see that something was wrong. “I missed the shot. That green SUV moved by itself and blocked my shot just as I fired it.”

He started the engine and made his way back down the canyon on an auxiliary path then what we had come in by and we drove in silence for a few moments, which allowed me to put my rifle away, before he finally said something. “This complicates our mission further. His project with those vehicles is something that we did not study seriously enough and, even if he does not guess it right away, I know that Agent Fowler will realize that he was the target of an assassination and he will be much harder to get at.”

“I know that!” I growled sharply at him. In all of my life, I had missed so few shots that I could count them on my hands.

I felt a gentle, but firm, hand on my shoulder and I didn't have to turn to know whose it was. “Lizzie,” Black started, shaking my shoulder slightly in a jostling way. “we knew something was off about this assignment from the beginning. At least we got out clean.”

Nodding, I glanced away from him before letting my memories from before come back at me, to one of the times when I had failed to complete the mission. Back, when I had met Edward Blacksmith for the first time and I would forever be connected with the infamous man.

Flashback

I groaned as awareness came back to me. What had happened? I tried to lift my left arm but stopped trying when it wouldn't move. Since I could still feel it, that meant that I was restrained. My survival instincts kicked in at that point and I opened my eyes. Wherever I was being kept, I could see that it was secluded, dark, and had a musty smell, much like garage attics. But, the room that I was in was so much cleaner. I could smell the sharp lemon smell of floor cleaner all around me.

“You seem much younger then the others.” A male voice said from next to my right ear, almost in a curious whisper.

I stayed silent for a moment before asking, “Others?”

I heard the male voice smirk before he said, “The six others who have tried, and failed, to take out Edward Blacksmith.” He then paused and, while I was very tempted to glance back and see what he was doing, I stayed facing forward. Whoever this man was, I knew that he was probably searching for any weakness he could use against me. Looking back would reveal curiosity, and he could use that curiosity against me and I was already in a vulnerable enough position. I did not need to add anything that he could take as a weakness.

But, something he just said caught my attention. “Six? What happened to them?”

A shiver almost traveled up my spine as I felt an almost professionally soft finger draw light circles at the base of my neck, right where I stabbed the crash test dummy. The man then started talking again, “Mr. Blacksmith loves his flowers. They look so beautiful when they are in full bloom. If you use just the right fertilizer, they grow so vibrant. Do you like flowers?”

I was thrown by this man's lack of seriousness...at first. I asked about these others who had tried to come and kill Mr. Blacksmith and he says something about random flowers? But, I then thought about what he was saying. It was only then that what he was saying started to slowly click into my mind. The poppies; they weren't for decoration. This man had killed all the others who had been tasked of taking our Edward Blacksmith and those others were buried underneath the poppies.

When I realized that there hadn't been any talking for a while, I realized that I had to answer him. “They're nice at first, but they quickly loose their appeal.”

The finger at my neck paused for a moment and I wondered why. But, my wondering would have to wait as I felt the finger trace a line down the right side of my neck, pause at my artery, and then start those small circular motions at the base of my throat. The man, still behind me, was a complete mystery to me. I could not see any part of him yet and my curiosity was driving me crazy. Who was this man who got the drop on me?

“I see.” The man started, his voice seemingly right next to my ear. I couldn't stop the shiver that traveled through my body as I felt the heat from his breath brush against my ear. “You are...different. I must ask, where are your microphone and earpiece? The others that Homeland sent were wearing them but I did not find any when I searched you.”

This guy was starting to creep me out. But, at the same time, I almost felt drawn to him. I had to get out of here. If my mind couldn't make up what to do about this man, then I did not want to stay here for longer than I had to. But, I had to play it carefully or I would end up dead. So, I answered his question. “My 'liaison' was annoying me. So, I decided that I didn't want him in my head during this mission and destroyed them.”

My voice was calm, but he must have found something amusing because I heard him chuckle slightly before, again, his finger stopped circling the base of my throat and paused. What was his deal? I couldn't figure this guy out for the life of me.

“Sounded like fun.” The man said before his finger retraced its path back up my neck, pausing slightly at the artery, before coming to the spot where I had stabbed the dummy and again making those circular motions. “You are very tense. Why don't you relax?”

I rolled my eyes at that but chose to keep my mouth shut. I was going to say something that I would probably regret if I didn't. I had to stay tense just in case he tried anything. But, it seemed like my trying was for not as I felt the man press against a different spot on my neck and, immediately, my body relaxed. Mentally, I was panicking. What was he doing to me? “What was that for?” I asked softly, though I was angry that I couldn't keep the slight feeling of fear out of my voice.

He chuckled slightly, his breath hitting the back of my neck, before saying, “You needed to relax, dear, and that was the fastest way that I knew how to help. Now, I can see that you are brimming with curiosity at my identity,” How did he guess that? I was hiding it perfectly! “and since you have been a very cooperative assassin, I will allow you to see me before I kill you.”

So he was going to kill me. And, since I still hadn't figured out how to escape, I knew that this was the end. All the hard work that I had overcome, to be taken out now. Sometimes life really wasn't fair. But, when I started this, I knew that I might end up being killed. So, instead of feeling sorry for myself, I stayed facing forward.

Though he had already done it before, I could not stop the shiver from traveling down my spine as he moved his finger from the back of my neck and to down the artery. But, as he moved from there to the base of my throat, I noticed that there was movement on my right side. Now I would finally see this man who seemed to represent Edward Blacksmith. From what I could see now, he was in some sort of suit coat. Not what I was expecting out...of...

I stared in shock at the figure before me. No. Way.

“It is nice to see you conscious, my would be assassin.” The man I had been studying for a week, Edward Blacksmith, stated as he knelt down in front of the chair I was strapped to. He was the one who got the drop on me? What sort of work did he do for special operations? “Homeland was quite upset when I stopped being their personal assassin and went into the private sector of the business. They keep trying to take me out with you inexperienced people and all you get is dead. Quite a shame.”

He was an assassin! I knew those rats at Homeland were holding something out on me but I didn't realize that it would be this big! If I got out of this, I was never going to accept an assignment from them ever again. “What happens now?” I asked Blacksmith. I figured that, if he was going to kill me, I would prefer that he get on with it. It was the least I could hope since I gave most of my targets a quick death.

The smirk he gave me caused me to shiver. He had a strange feel about him and it was, strangely, attractive and addictive. If he wasn't about to kill me, I could see myself becoming addicted to him. That wouldn't be too great so I was almost glad that he was about to off me.

“I don't like dragging out a death,” He said as he took out a dagger with a black blade. Seriously, too addicted with black. “so, fair lady, this is where we say goodbye.” He then lashed forward with the dagger aimed at my throat.

Instead of flinching, or trying to dodge, or saying anything, I stayed perfectly straight as the dagger drew closer and closer to my throat. There was no way that I was going to show fear when I left this world. Not a chance.

I felt the blade break the first few layers of skin at my throat and the hot blood seep down from the wound he made. But, I was surprised when he halted, almost instantly. What was going on? He was supposedly going to kill me? I felt so confused then and, as I continued to look at Blacksmith, I saw that he looked shocked. And not a shock that he put up on his own. No, this was pure shock that he couldn't have possibly controlled.

But, that look of shock quickly vanished and a genuine smile seemed to appear on his face. “Perfect. Never thought I would find someone quite like you.”

Now I was really confused. “What are you talking about?”

He laughed at me before saying, “My dear, I had every intent of cutting you down where you sat but you didn't flinch, you never let fear show on your face. Why?”

I could still feel the tip of the dagger in my skin and the blood was still trickling down as I answered Mr. Blacksmith. “When I decided to become an assassin, I knew that I was placing my life on the line every day that I was alive. I know that, one day, my life will come to an end and I am doubting that it will be peaceful. For years, I have served death and I have taken out hundreds of people. Why should I fear the same thing happening to me?”

The man stared at me for a moment and I felt like he was studying me. Like I was hiding something behind my eyes that would give him the answer to eternal youth. “My dear, I have a proposition for you, if you would care to hear me out.”

What? This man was making no sense at all and I was ready to just tell him to off me so I wouldn't be so confused. But, I wanted to figure out what this proposition was and so I asked, “What sort of proposition?”

That smirk of his was really addicting. I had no idea how he pulled it off. Plus, he was at most ten years older than me so he was close enough to my age to be consider attractive.

I mentally shook my head at that as he answered me. “I don't meet many people who excel in our line of work, and even fewer who could have kept watch on me like you did, but you are the only one, besides myself, who I have crossed who has not flinched when faced with death. So, I would like to propose a permanent partnership. I could teach you so much and you could keep my company, because, as you can guess, there are not too many people I would open up to. I have unlimited resources and I could make sure that we stayed alive. I would completely trust you, as I would hope you would me. Since I can tell that you are impressed with me, as much as I am with you, then this would be the perfect partnership. What do you say?”

My eyes widened in shock at that. What was he talking about? Assassins never partnered up. There was never enough trust to do so. I had tried when I had first started out and I had been stabbed in the back, both figuratively and actually, and I was nervous about what Blacksmith was offering. Permanent partnership? I wasn't so sure about that. So, I figured I would test him with a question of my own, “Are you going to still kill me if I say no? I would like to know before I give my answer.”

I could see something light up behind his eyes, almost excitement, before he said, “No my dear, I will not kill you if you say no. You are a rare star in our line of work and I would not take you out.”

The truth in his answer was beaming in his voice and so I said, “Why not? I would rather be with the man who got the best of me than against him.”

He smirked at that before saying, “I was hoping you would say that.” He then finally took the dagger away from my throat and cut my bonds. I tried to stand on my own but I found that my legs were still weak. He placed a hand under my arm and helped me up and said, “And I can't wait for our partnership to get underway. But, I would like to meet my new partner dear.”

I figured it was only fair so I took off my mask and said, “The name is Lizzie Xantara Val. It will be interesting to work with you. But,” I then paused before adding, “don't call me dear.”

He smirked at me like he didn't have a care in the world.

End of Flashback.

“Yeah, at least we got away clean.” I muttered. As we pulled into Black's garage, I knew that I had to get to Agent Fowler soon. He was going to panic once he found out that he was being targeted. Tomorrow, I would take him out, or die trying.

Ratchet's 3rd P.O.V.

The Autobot medic sighed as he worked on Bulkhead. Agent Fowler had asked Bulkhead to take him out on one of their regular patrols because his superiors wanted to know what an average day with the Autobots was like. So, they had agreed. During that outing, however, Bulkhead was struck on the side with something small and metallic and it was currently lodged into his chassis. Ratchet was currently trying to get it out. But, it was strange, He doubted that the debris hit Bulkhead on accident but he wasn't sure what its purpose was.

“Aren't you done yet Ratchet? Bulk and I have some dune bashing to go do!” Miko pestered him again. Ratchet sometimes wished that she was like them just so he could weld her lip plates together so he wouldn't have to hear her constant blabber.

Sighing, Ratchet took a tool and reached inside before taking out the projectile and setting it on a table. “Once I weld up this hole and he takes a decontamination bath, then yes, I will be."

Miko let out a groan before saying, “Don't you think getting decontaminated is a bit much doc?”

Shaking his head, Ratchet started to weld the damage together and said, “Not when we do not know what could have been on that scrap of metal.”

Miko sighed at that and walked off. But, if Ratchet thought that would stop the questions, he was proven wrong when the others walked up to the small table he had set the metal on and Fowler said, “I don't know. That doesn't look like a regular piece of scrap metal.”

Great, now Fowler thought he knew everything. Thankfully, Optimus answered. “What do you mean by that Agent Fowler?”

“It almost looks like some sort of bullet.” Fowler answered. “Once you are done with it, I'll take it over to the boys back at base and see if they can't figure anything out about it.”

Once Ratchet was finished welding up Bulkhead, he shooed the green mech to the decontamination area before quickly scanning the piece of scrap that Agent Fowler thought could have been a bullet. He seriously doubted that it was because it would not have any effect on a Cybertronian. Why would anyone even try?

As his scans ran a diagnostic, Raf moved closer to the scrap before saying, “I think it is a bullet. It looks like the pictures I studied for Forensic Science class.” Everyone stared at the young human before he said, “It was an elective. Last year.”

Ratchet nodded and knew that Rafael was usually pretty spot on with what he knew. But, why would someone shoot at Bulkhead? It didn't make any sense. “Well, we will find out if anything that can harm us is on that bullet.”

Raf nodded and said, “I wonder what it feels like...” Raf then reached out his hand toward it.

A beep from his scanners caused Ratchet's optics to widen. “Rafael don't touch that!” He then scooped up Raf.

The others jumped in shock before Optimus asked, “Ratchet, what did you find out?”

Pointing to the bullet, Ratchet explained himself. “That bullet was coated with a poison called Batrachotoxin. While the toxin has no effect on us, it will kill a human almost instantly.”

“But then why did they aim for Bulk?” Miko asked. Ratchet noticed that all of the humans still on the ground had backed up a good deal away from the table.

It was then that the answer seemed to click in Ratchet's processor. They had all been so focused on Bulkhead that they forgot about one other detail. One that was now brought forward by the finding of the extremely dangerous poison...to humans. “That's because Bulkhead wasn't the target,” Ratchet started.

Ratchet glanced up at Optimus and could see that his friend now realized what he was getting at. Optimus then took over for the medic. “the target seems to have been Agent Fowler.”

Everyone turned to Fowler, with said agent pointing at himself in shock, before he said, “Me? But, then that would mean.....”

“Agent Fowler?” Ratchet asked, prompting Fowler to share his thoughts.

The Autobot medic could see the panic in their liaison's eyes as the human said, “That means that I've got a price on my head, and someone just tried to collect on it.”

Description

Ch. 3: How Did that Happen?

It had now been three days, THREE DAYS, since we had arrived in Jasper and I was ready to take this Agent Fowler out. The day after I had met the kids, I had caught my first glance at Agent Fowler. He was a stocky kind of man and I felt that his threat level was very low. He seemed out of shape, though my research told me that he used to be an Army Ranger. That might cause him to be difficult, but I didn't see much of that about to happen. How did I not see it? Well, the reason I first saw him was because Miko seemed to have gotten into some sort of trouble at school that must have interfered with his assignment. I didn't see any other reason for him to be there. That observation told me that he was going to be a simple target to take out.

“But remember Lizzie dear, simple targets aren't always what they appear to be.”

I jumped and turned from my bed as Black's voice came from the doorway. Of course, he was leaning against the frame, all dressed up in his normal suit outfit. “Don't do that!” I growled as I stood up, for I had been kneeling down next to it to put away a few weapons that I had been practicing with, before I walked toward my closet. “Yes, but I want this simple target out of the way quickly.” I pulled out my Dragunov SVD rifle and double checked to make sure that it was in proper working order before I placed it in its case.

“So, you are going to use the Dragunov?” Black asked me. “I thought you would go for the SCAR.”

Rolling my eyes, I walked up to him and said, “The SCAR doesn't feel right for this. I think the Dragunov is more suited.”

Black held up his hands in a surrendering motion. “Sorry Lizzie. If you want to use the Dragunov, then you are free to use it.” He then motioned out the door before saying, “Now, shall we go and track down our Agent Fowler?”

Nodding, I walked out of the door and went to the elevator. The ride up was quiet, as it usually was before we went to take out a target. No talking, no getting distracted by other factors that we might bring up. No allowing those who might be affected by the target's death enter your mind, even slightly, so that you could focus solely on your mission. It took me a while to learn these but, ever since I had, my performance on the job had improved exponentially.

Once we reached the top, we walked out to his dune buggy. It was the street legal kind that was painted with tan digital cameo. Honestly, he probably bought it for this place just in case he needed. “Your driving.” I told him as I placed my rifle case behind the passenger seat before I got in and brought it back up front to sit on my lap.

He nodded and effortlessly jumped into the driver seat before starting it up and driving down the desert road. As he did, I found myself thinking about what I had learned from Black and what I had accomplished because of it. Personally, I had taken down rulers with the heaviest of guard and cretins with the most uncanny ability to hide. All because of Edward Blacksmith. And to think that, once upon a time, I had been sent to kill him.

Flashback:

“You know your mission. Find the target, study them, and take him down.” My contact at Homeland said to me as I sat in the middle of the large oak tree on the side of Blacksmith's house. A month ago, Homeland Security had hired me to take out a rogue agent of theirs, Edward Vitae Blacksmith. This agent was the top of their special operations for a few years until, one day, he simply vanished. He had been their top agent, though they didn't inform me as to why that was. Oh well. Not long after that, they received word that missions he worked on appeared on the internet and they were having one heck of a time covering it up. They were paying me about five hundred thousand to take him out and so I didn't mind what he did.

Shaking my head, I said, “I know that. Now, can you keep this line clear.” I noticed that there were six bundles of poppy flowers. Guess he was into the flowers. Must have a significant meaning to Blacksmith because they did not go with this house.

“Not until you complete the objective.” My contact quickly responded.

Taking out the earpiece and microphone set, I said, “Hey, I think there is a solar flare happening. I am losing you!”

“Don't you dare,” The agent started to yell but, before he could finish, I smashed the devices. They would just distract me. I wanted to take care of this Edward Blacksmith as quickly as possible so I could get the rest of my fee and get out of there. When I had been studying him, something had felt off. It was almost like he knew that I was watching him. But, that was impossible. No one knew when I was watching them until it was too late.

Dropping down from my hiding place, I made my way to the front door. I had taken Blacksmith's actual key to force him to show me where he kept his hidden one. But, once he did, I placed his original key on the ground next to his car so he would think that he dropped it.

Once the front door was unlocked, I carefully opened it so it wouldn't make a sound and, once it was open enough for me to fit through, I quickly crept inside before shutting and locking the door again. It would make the police think that I had come through another direction when they came to investigate the murder. Or, well, when the came to investigate the 'accident'. That sounded better. Yeah, I'll go with accident for now.

As I made my way up the stairs of the three story Victorian styled home, I noticed that there weren't many personal items around. None. It was like my target was a sad, pathetic shell of a man who was dead in every way but the one that I was here to accomplish. Maybe this would be like a mercy killing instead of an act of brutality. Yeah, that's right. Just an act of mercy for the poor ex-agent.

When I reached the top floor, which housed Blacksmith's room, I carefully walked down the hall until I came to a simple brown door. I would have thought that Blacksmith would have had a more decorated door but the way the man decorated his house was not important to me. His life was. Or, more specifically, ending his life was.

Opening the door, I glanced around the room. The shadows seemed to cling to each and every surface that the almost pristine, and simple, room held. The carpet below my shoes had a feel that was not unlike coarse wool and it was colored black and silver. In the northeast corner of the room, a simple dresser sat with only a medium sized mirror sitting on top. In the northwest corner, there was a cabinet that held a few trophies and certificates, though what they said was of no consequence to me. What was of consequence was what was in the middle of the room, the bed. It's simple headboard was pushed against the north wall and a figure was covered by a light comforter that was colored black. This guy had an addiction to black.

Shaking my head, I let out a slow breath, feeling the under-armor of the mask I was wearing stretch as I took my last deep breath before I took out my target. Then, I silently took out my dagger and held it in my hand as I carefully made my way to the side of his bed. These ex-agent types could be quite a handful if I messed up and I didn't want to have to try and fight him. No, instead, I wanted to end his life for him peacefully. So, once I was next to the bed, I saw that his back was facing me. Perfect. Now all I had to do was drive the dagger into the base of his neck. Painless.

Once I located where his neck was, I held the dagger out before quickly and decisively bringing it down on his neck. When I pulled out the weapon and it was covered in red, I knew that I had done my job. “But, just to confirm it.” I muttered to myself as I gripped the black comforter, ready to pull it back. After a few seconds of standing there, I did just that.

“What?” I gasped in a loud whisper. This wasn't supposed to happen! He was supposed to be here! The dagger was covered in blood!

I yelped as a sharp, yet thin, object slammed into my neck and something was injected into me before I realized what was going on. By then, my vision was going dark and I was falling to the floor. The last thing that I registered was an averaged sized, but strong, warm arm catching me around my upper waist.

End of Flashback.

“Not to interrupt your zone out.” Black stated, bringing me out of the memories of the past. I made sure not to show my surprise as he did. I also noticed that he was slowing down greatly. “But, I believe that is one of those vehicles that picks up the children, and, unless I'm losing my vision, I believe that our Agent Fowler is in the front seat.”

“Driver side?” I asked him. I was hoping that he wouldn't be. That maybe he had slipped and I could find out more about his project.

But, as expected, Black nodded. “Yep, though he looks a little too relaxed. Maybe we should get a closer look. Maybe a red one.” He smirked at the end of that. I knew he was talking about me taking out Fowler.

Smirking, I said, “Well, we had better go and catch up to them. I've got a named bullet just itching to connect with Agent Fowler.” Of course, it wasn't a true named bullet. I never actually named them because then I didn't want to risk jinxing my shots because I shot the wrong named bullet at my target.

Black smirked back at me before he carefully followed the Agent's dust trail. We were using the dust trail to stay out of his sight. He couldn't use any radar he might have to locate us because Black shielded all of his vehicles with carbon shielding. Even his plane was shielded. Made it really nice to move through the air quickly and secretive. Of course, that shielding didn't stop us from tracking them.

We followed them for a few moments until they came to a round-about and stopped. Perfect. That meant that there would be nowhere for Fowler to retreat that didn't come past me. Once Black stopped the buggy, I hopped out and took my rifle out of its case before I walked toward the edge of the opening of the end of the canyon. It was far enough away from Black that we were no long in each others' sights but it was close enough for me to run to him if I had to make a quick getaway from the location. On the other side, the walls were high and there were no openings. So, I was almost positive that this was going to be a simple hit, since the green SUV seemed to be in park, so it couldn't get in my way when I eventually took my shot. But, first, I had to make sure that I had perfect aim to make it a quick and painless death. That was the least I could do for my targets. Unless the circumstances were very unique, I didn't want to cause my targets any more pain then they had to suffer.

Laying down on the sandy ground, I aimed my rifle so I would be taking out this Agent Fowler in one hit, no mess or extra pain. Also, I made sure that I stayed to the shadows just in case they started to look around here before I could get my shot in. But, as I lined up Fowler in my cross-hairs, I knew that was not going to happen. I was almost ready. The shot was only a moment away. I slowly placed my right pointer finger against the trigger and took a deep breath before slowly exhaling it. This was it. After days of getting ready, this was it. As Fowler started to hang up his phone, I knew that the time was now. Once the phone was hung up, then I would be ready.

Fowler placing his phone in his pocket told me that it was time. So, I checked my shot and, with practiced ease, I pulled the trigger. The sound of the shot was almost non-existent thanks to highly-advanced tools that Black had gotten me through his contacts. The kick-back was lowered greatly due to the same reason. I could almost watch as the bullet sailed toward the Agent. Well, I might of if I wasn't panicking and quickly getting up. As soon as I fired the shot, I knew it was a miss and I had to get out of there. How did I know so early that the shot was a miss? Well, as soon as I had pulled the trigger, the green SUV did the most unlikely thing.

It moved into the bullet's path.

“Of all the luck.” I grumbled as I sprinted around a corner and saw Black's car in sight.

Black, for his part, looked surprised and stood up before asking, “What's wrong?”

Guess he could see that something was wrong. “I missed the shot. That green SUV moved by itself and blocked my shot just as I fired it.”

He started the engine and made his way back down the canyon on an auxiliary path then what we had come in by and we drove in silence for a few moments, which allowed me to put my rifle away, before he finally said something. “This complicates our mission further. His project with those vehicles is something that we did not study seriously enough and, even if he does not guess it right away, I know that Agent Fowler will realize that he was the target of an assassination and he will be much harder to get at.”

“I know that!” I growled sharply at him. In all of my life, I had missed so few shots that I could count them on my hands.

I felt a gentle, but firm, hand on my shoulder and I didn't have to turn to know whose it was. “Lizzie,” Black started, shaking my shoulder slightly in a jostling way. “we knew something was off about this assignment from the beginning. At least we got out clean.”

Nodding, I glanced away from him before letting my memories from before come back at me, to one of the times when I had failed to complete the mission. Back, when I had met Edward Blacksmith for the first time and I would forever be connected with the infamous man.

Flashback

I groaned as awareness came back to me. What had happened? I tried to lift my left arm but stopped trying when it wouldn't move. Since I could still feel it, that meant that I was restrained. My survival instincts kicked in at that point and I opened my eyes. Wherever I was being kept, I could see that it was secluded, dark, and had a musty smell, much like garage attics. But, the room that I was in was so much cleaner. I could smell the sharp lemon smell of floor cleaner all around me.

“You seem much younger then the others.” A male voice said from next to my right ear, almost in a curious whisper.

I stayed silent for a moment before asking, “Others?”

I heard the male voice smirk before he said, “The six others who have tried, and failed, to take out Edward Blacksmith.” He then paused and, while I was very tempted to glance back and see what he was doing, I stayed facing forward. Whoever this man was, I knew that he was probably searching for any weakness he could use against me. Looking back would reveal curiosity, and he could use that curiosity against me and I was already in a vulnerable enough position. I did not need to add anything that he could take as a weakness.

But, something he just said caught my attention. “Six? What happened to them?”

A shiver almost traveled up my spine as I felt an almost professionally soft finger draw light circles at the base of my neck, right where I stabbed the crash test dummy. The man then started talking again, “Mr. Blacksmith loves his flowers. They look so beautiful when they are in full bloom. If you use just the right fertilizer, they grow so vibrant. Do you like flowers?”

I was thrown by this man's lack of seriousness...at first. I asked about these others who had tried to come and kill Mr. Blacksmith and he says something about random flowers? But, I then thought about what he was saying. It was only then that what he was saying started to slowly click into my mind. The poppies; they weren't for decoration. This man had killed all the others who had been tasked of taking our Edward Blacksmith and those others were buried underneath the poppies.

When I realized that there hadn't been any talking for a while, I realized that I had to answer him. “They're nice at first, but they quickly loose their appeal.”

The finger at my neck paused for a moment and I wondered why. But, my wondering would have to wait as I felt the finger trace a line down the right side of my neck, pause at my artery, and then start those small circular motions at the base of my throat. The man, still behind me, was a complete mystery to me. I could not see any part of him yet and my curiosity was driving me crazy. Who was this man who got the drop on me?

“I see.” The man started, his voice seemingly right next to my ear. I couldn't stop the shiver that traveled through my body as I felt the heat from his breath brush against my ear. “You are...different. I must ask, where are your microphone and earpiece? The others that Homeland sent were wearing them but I did not find any when I searched you.”

This guy was starting to creep me out. But, at the same time, I almost felt drawn to him. I had to get out of here. If my mind couldn't make up what to do about this man, then I did not want to stay here for longer than I had to. But, I had to play it carefully or I would end up dead. So, I answered his question. “My 'liaison' was annoying me. So, I decided that I didn't want him in my head during this mission and destroyed them.”

My voice was calm, but he must have found something amusing because I heard him chuckle slightly before, again, his finger stopped circling the base of my throat and paused. What was his deal? I couldn't figure this guy out for the life of me.

“Sounded like fun.” The man said before his finger retraced its path back up my neck, pausing slightly at the artery, before coming to the spot where I had stabbed the dummy and again making those circular motions. “You are very tense. Why don't you relax?”

I rolled my eyes at that but chose to keep my mouth shut. I was going to say something that I would probably regret if I didn't. I had to stay tense just in case he tried anything. But, it seemed like my trying was for not as I felt the man press against a different spot on my neck and, immediately, my body relaxed. Mentally, I was panicking. What was he doing to me? “What was that for?” I asked softly, though I was angry that I couldn't keep the slight feeling of fear out of my voice.

He chuckled slightly, his breath hitting the back of my neck, before saying, “You needed to relax, dear, and that was the fastest way that I knew how to help. Now, I can see that you are brimming with curiosity at my identity,” How did he guess that? I was hiding it perfectly! “and since you have been a very cooperative assassin, I will allow you to see me before I kill you.”

So he was going to kill me. And, since I still hadn't figured out how to escape, I knew that this was the end. All the hard work that I had overcome, to be taken out now. Sometimes life really wasn't fair. But, when I started this, I knew that I might end up being killed. So, instead of feeling sorry for myself, I stayed facing forward.

Though he had already done it before, I could not stop the shiver from traveling down my spine as he moved his finger from the back of my neck and to down the artery. But, as he moved from there to the base of my throat, I noticed that there was movement on my right side. Now I would finally see this man who seemed to represent Edward Blacksmith. From what I could see now, he was in some sort of suit coat. Not what I was expecting out...of...

I stared in shock at the figure before me. No. Way.

“It is nice to see you conscious, my would be assassin.” The man I had been studying for a week, Edward Blacksmith, stated as he knelt down in front of the chair I was strapped to. He was the one who got the drop on me? What sort of work did he do for special operations? “Homeland was quite upset when I stopped being their personal assassin and went into the private sector of the business. They keep trying to take me out with you inexperienced people and all you get is dead. Quite a shame.”

He was an assassin! I knew those rats at Homeland were holding something out on me but I didn't realize that it would be this big! If I got out of this, I was never going to accept an assignment from them ever again. “What happens now?” I asked Blacksmith. I figured that, if he was going to kill me, I would prefer that he get on with it. It was the least I could hope since I gave most of my targets a quick death.

The smirk he gave me caused me to shiver. He had a strange feel about him and it was, strangely, attractive and addictive. If he wasn't about to kill me, I could see myself becoming addicted to him. That wouldn't be too great so I was almost glad that he was about to off me.

“I don't like dragging out a death,” He said as he took out a dagger with a black blade. Seriously, too addicted with black. “so, fair lady, this is where we say goodbye.” He then lashed forward with the dagger aimed at my throat.

Instead of flinching, or trying to dodge, or saying anything, I stayed perfectly straight as the dagger drew closer and closer to my throat. There was no way that I was going to show fear when I left this world. Not a chance.

I felt the blade break the first few layers of skin at my throat and the hot blood seep down from the wound he made. But, I was surprised when he halted, almost instantly. What was going on? He was supposedly going to kill me? I felt so confused then and, as I continued to look at Blacksmith, I saw that he looked shocked. And not a shock that he put up on his own. No, this was pure shock that he couldn't have possibly controlled.

But, that look of shock quickly vanished and a genuine smile seemed to appear on his face. “Perfect. Never thought I would find someone quite like you.”

Now I was really confused. “What are you talking about?”

He laughed at me before saying, “My dear, I had every intent of cutting you down where you sat but you didn't flinch, you never let fear show on your face. Why?”

I could still feel the tip of the dagger in my skin and the blood was still trickling down as I answered Mr. Blacksmith. “When I decided to become an assassin, I knew that I was placing my life on the line every day that I was alive. I know that, one day, my life will come to an end and I am doubting that it will be peaceful. For years, I have served death and I have taken out hundreds of people. Why should I fear the same thing happening to me?”

The man stared at me for a moment and I felt like he was studying me. Like I was hiding something behind my eyes that would give him the answer to eternal youth. “My dear, I have a proposition for you, if you would care to hear me out.”

What? This man was making no sense at all and I was ready to just tell him to off me so I wouldn't be so confused. But, I wanted to figure out what this proposition was and so I asked, “What sort of proposition?”

That smirk of his was really addicting. I had no idea how he pulled it off. Plus, he was at most ten years older than me so he was close enough to my age to be consider attractive.

I mentally shook my head at that as he answered me. “I don't meet many people who excel in our line of work, and even fewer who could have kept watch on me like you did, but you are the only one, besides myself, who I have crossed who has not flinched when faced with death. So, I would like to propose a permanent partnership. I could teach you so much and you could keep my company, because, as you can guess, there are not too many people I would open up to. I have unlimited resources and I could make sure that we stayed alive. I would completely trust you, as I would hope you would me. Since I can tell that you are impressed with me, as much as I am with you, then this would be the perfect partnership. What do you say?”

My eyes widened in shock at that. What was he talking about? Assassins never partnered up. There was never enough trust to do so. I had tried when I had first started out and I had been stabbed in the back, both figuratively and actually, and I was nervous about what Blacksmith was offering. Permanent partnership? I wasn't so sure about that. So, I figured I would test him with a question of my own, “Are you going to still kill me if I say no? I would like to know before I give my answer.”

I could see something light up behind his eyes, almost excitement, before he said, “No my dear, I will not kill you if you say no. You are a rare star in our line of work and I would not take you out.”

The truth in his answer was beaming in his voice and so I said, “Why not? I would rather be with the man who got the best of me than against him.”

He smirked at that before saying, “I was hoping you would say that.” He then finally took the dagger away from my throat and cut my bonds. I tried to stand on my own but I found that my legs were still weak. He placed a hand under my arm and helped me up and said, “And I can't wait for our partnership to get underway. But, I would like to meet my new partner dear.”

I figured it was only fair so I took off my mask and said, “The name is Lizzie Xantara Val. It will be interesting to work with you. But,” I then paused before adding, “don't call me dear.”

He smirked at me like he didn't have a care in the world.

End of Flashback.

“Yeah, at least we got away clean.” I muttered. As we pulled into Black's garage, I knew that I had to get to Agent Fowler soon. He was going to panic once he found out that he was being targeted. Tomorrow, I would take him out, or die trying.

Ratchet's 3rd P.O.V.

The Autobot medic sighed as he worked on Bulkhead. Agent Fowler had asked Bulkhead to take him out on one of their regular patrols because his superiors wanted to know what an average day with the Autobots was like. So, they had agreed. During that outing, however, Bulkhead was struck on the side with something small and metallic and it was currently lodged into his chassis. Ratchet was currently trying to get it out. But, it was strange, He doubted that the debris hit Bulkhead on accident but he wasn't sure what its purpose was.

“Aren't you done yet Ratchet? Bulk and I have some dune bashing to go do!” Miko pestered him again. Ratchet sometimes wished that she was like them just so he could weld her lip plates together so he wouldn't have to hear her constant blabber.

Sighing, Ratchet took a tool and reached inside before taking out the projectile and setting it on a table. “Once I weld up this hole and he takes a decontamination bath, then yes, I will be."

Miko let out a groan before saying, “Don't you think getting decontaminated is a bit much doc?”

Shaking his head, Ratchet started to weld the damage together and said, “Not when we do not know what could have been on that scrap of metal.”

Miko sighed at that and walked off. But, if Ratchet thought that would stop the questions, he was proven wrong when the others walked up to the small table he had set the metal on and Fowler said, “I don't know. That doesn't look like a regular piece of scrap metal.”

Great, now Fowler thought he knew everything. Thankfully, Optimus answered. “What do you mean by that Agent Fowler?”

“It almost looks like some sort of bullet.” Fowler answered. “Once you are done with it, I'll take it over to the boys back at base and see if they can't figure anything out about it.”

Once Ratchet was finished welding up Bulkhead, he shooed the green mech to the decontamination area before quickly scanning the piece of scrap that Agent Fowler thought could have been a bullet. He seriously doubted that it was because it would not have any effect on a Cybertronian. Why would anyone even try?

As his scans ran a diagnostic, Raf moved closer to the scrap before saying, “I think it is a bullet. It looks like the pictures I studied for Forensic Science class.” Everyone stared at the young human before he said, “It was an elective. Last year.”

Ratchet nodded and knew that Rafael was usually pretty spot on with what he knew. But, why would someone shoot at Bulkhead? It didn't make any sense. “Well, we will find out if anything that can harm us is on that bullet.”

Raf nodded and said, “I wonder what it feels like...” Raf then reached out his hand toward it.

A beep from his scanners caused Ratchet's optics to widen. “Rafael don't touch that!” He then scooped up Raf.

The others jumped in shock before Optimus asked, “Ratchet, what did you find out?”

Pointing to the bullet, Ratchet explained himself. “That bullet was coated with a poison called Batrachotoxin. While the toxin has no effect on us, it will kill a human almost instantly.”

“But then why did they aim for Bulk?” Miko asked. Ratchet noticed that all of the humans still on the ground had backed up a good deal away from the table.

It was then that the answer seemed to click in Ratchet's processor. They had all been so focused on Bulkhead that they forgot about one other detail. One that was now brought forward by the finding of the extremely dangerous poison...to humans. “That's because Bulkhead wasn't the target,” Ratchet started.

Ratchet glanced up at Optimus and could see that his friend now realized what he was getting at. Optimus then took over for the medic. “the target seems to have been Agent Fowler.”

Everyone turned to Fowler, with said agent pointing at himself in shock, before he said, “Me? But, then that would mean.....”

“Agent Fowler?” Ratchet asked, prompting Fowler to share his thoughts.

The Autobot medic could see the panic in their liaison's eyes as the human said, “That means that I've got a price on my head, and someone just tried to collect on it.”